UPDATE 2-Dutch regulator weighs Tesla's use of 'Autopilot' name

(Updates throughout after RDW clarifies its position on name,
may issue formal position on Tuesday, reorders some paragraphs)

By Toby Sterling

AMSTERDAM Oct 17 The Dutch agency that approved
electric carmaker Tesla's "Autopilot" driver assistance
system for use throughout Europe said Monday it is considering
what action to take, if any, on the name after several German
organizations said it could be misleading.

"The RDW has no official opinion about the name Autopilot,
as normally we only consider technical aspects and not names,"
said spokesman Hans van Geenhuizen of the Dutch Road Traffic
Service (RDW) in an email.

"This is new," he said, referring to the possibility that
the name of a driving technology itself could be relevant to a
safety review.

On Sunday, Germany's Transport Minister asked Tesla
to stop advertising its electric vehicles as having an Autopilot
function as this might suggest drivers' attention is not needed.

Tesla said in response to that request that the term
autopilot had been used in the aerospace industry for decades to
describe a system operating in conjunction with a human driver,
and the company had always made it clear to customers that the
system required drivers to pay attention at all times.

Tesla's Autopilot, introduced last October, helps drivers
steer and stay in lane and is intended to assist - but not
replace - drivers

The system has been the focus of intense scrutiny since a
Tesla Model S driver was killed while using the technology in a
May 7 collision with a truck in Florida.

Van Geenhuizen said RDW was considering the matter
internally and would make its official position known - if it
decides to issue one - on Tuesday.

In 2015, the RDW approved Tesla's "Autopilot" feature for
use throughout Europe. The agency's possible concerns would only
relate to the name and not to the system itself.

On Friday Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority KBA
wrote to owners of Tesla cars, warning them that their vehicles
could not be operated without their constant attention and that
under traffic regulations they must remain alert.

But German consumer protection agency VZBV said on Monday
the "Autopilot" system should not be on the roads.

"A letter to Tesla drivers urging them not to use the
Autopilot is not sufficient. That shifts to consumers the
responsibility for a failure that happened in the approval," the
vzbv said in an e-mailed statement.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by
Greg Mahlich and Cynthia Osterman)

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